1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to antennas, and more particularly to polarization agile antennas. Even more particularly, the invention relates to an antenna formed of metallic radiating elements on a printed circuit board which form a dual-orthogonal loop structure having a single RF feed for generating orthogonal linear, slant and circular polarizations.
2. Background Information
Many antenna systems require some sort of polarization diversity for optimum performance. This need generally adds to the cost and complexity of the antenna system. A single feed antenna simplifies system design since there is only one RF port. Common prior art methods for polarization switching utilize multiple orthogonal antennas with the appropriate phase shift. A less sophisticated approach to polarization agility is to mechanically steer a linear polarized antenna. Such methods require either an RF switch or multiple RF channels which adds to cost and complexity.
There is, therefore, the need for dynamic polarization switching to optimize communication and radar system performance without requiring separate RF feeds for multiple antennas or mechanical steering.